ANNOUNCEMENTS

UFF USF Chapter Meeting this Friday is Cancelled

The UFF USF Chapter Meeting scheduled for Friday, March 8, is cancelled. The meeting schedule for the rest of the semester is:

• Friday, March 22 at 12 noon on USF Tampa in EDU150.
• Friday, April 5 at 12 noon on USF Sarasota / Manatee at a location TBA.
• Friday, April 19 at 12 noon on USF Tampa in EDU150.
• Friday, May 3 at 12 noon on USF Tampa in EDU150.

UFF Members : Don't Forget to Vote!

Both the UFF USF Chapter and the UFF statewide organizations are conducting elections. UFF members: don't forget to vote.

• By now, all UFF USF employees who were UFF members as of February 15 should have received a letter (delivered by first class mail to their home address) with instructions and a code for voting electronically. If you were a member as of February 15 and you did not receive the letter, please contact the Election Chair, Lisa Rapp.
• By now, all UFF USF employees who were UFF members as of February 15 should have received a ballot (delivered by first class mail to their home address) for the UFF statewide elections. If you were a member as of February 15 and you did not recieve a ballot, please contact the Chapter Secretary, Greg McColm.

JOIN UFF TODAY!

Download, fill in, and mail the membership form. Benefits of membership include the right to run and vote in UFF chapter and statewide elections; representation in grievances (UFF cannot represent a non-member in a grievance or litigation); special deals in insurance, travel, legal advice, and other packages provided by our affiliates; free insurance coverage for job-related liability; and the knowledge you are supporting education in Florida. AND YOU CAN JOIN NOW AND AFTER A TERM AS A DUES PAYING MEMBER, YOU WILL RECEIVE A $ 100 REBATE. Come and join the movement.

The Legislative Session Starts TOMORROW

Every man's life, liberty, and property are in danger when the Legislature is in session. - Dan'l Webster

The 2013 Legislative Session opens tomorrow. Our legislators have been hard at work for months now, fashioning bills and pushing them through committees. Bills under consideration would impose taxes on internet sales, provide raises for K-12 teachers and bonuses for some other state and public employees, provide incentives for charter schools, revamp county and municipal pension plans, impose performance-based funding for the universities, prevent local government referenda on sick leave, etc., etc.

Some quotes ...

	We want to put together a bill that is the most sweeping education-lashed-to-the-economy reform bill in America. - Senate President Don Gaetz
	Teacher tenure is an immoral concept. - Representative Matt Gaetz
	People are saying the sky is falling because (the FRS) is only 87 percent funded, when we haven’t been funding the contributions that we’re supposed to make. - Senator Jack Latvala

Meanwhile, the White House has just sent out a letter on the effect of sequestration, including a $ 54.5 million cut in funding for primary and secondary education in Florida, and cuts to research funding.

LOGISTICS

Next Chapter Meeting Friday, March 22, at 12 noon on USF Tampa in EDU150.

• Click here for the standing agenda.

About this broadcast: This Newsletter was broadcast from uff.ourusf.org, hosted at ICDsoft.com, and is intended for all members of the UFF USF Bargaining unit (USF faculty and professionals at most departments). A (usually identical) version will be broadcast to USF-News and USF-Talk from mccolm@usf.edu.

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